Introduction to political science
November 13th
Ideology
Ideologies are studied:
1) As political thought (isms)
2) As beliefs and norms (political and sociological approach)
3) As a set of symbols, myths , as a language, as discourse (images, iconography,
political advertising, discourse analysis)
4) As elite power (elites, the way they see and phrase the ideology in order to keep
& gain power, to be supported by different groups)
Ideologies = “isms”
The term ideology is quite often inflated.
The term appeared in the 18th century and was coined by Antoine Destutt de Tracy.
The general question: which values dominate a certain period of time and in which way
these values differ from one society to another?
He saw ideology as a science of the human mind.
Marx (1818-1883) and Engels (1820-1875) – observers of revolution
For Marx, the ideology is a fabrication used by a group of people to justify themselves,
basically the ruling class. His first work on ideology was published in 1845 and was called
The German Ideology. The ideas of the ruling class are in each historical period the
dominant ideas. The ruling class is the bourgeoisie in the capitalist society – basically
those who own the means of production in any society. It is the economic forces who
drive history and this is why his view of history is called the materialist view, as opposed
to the idealist one.
Dichotomies:
1) social - between the bourgeoisie and the ones that are exploited
2) structural – between the base (the basic organization of the means of production
and the resulting class system) and the superstructure (individuals, ideas,
ideology)
For Marx, ideologies, as part of the superstructure (the reflection of the base), are the set
of political and legal views and ideas of the dominant class. Ideologies reflect the society
in which they exist and defend the ruling class.
Young Lenin was an admirer of Marx, but he was a man of action, a political actor, before
being a political thinker. He argued for a socialist society who could develop working
class consciousness.
Loyal Marxist thinkers: Antonio Gramsci (1891-1937), Herbert Marcuse (1898-1979) –
French Neo-Marxist, Louis Alhusser (1918-1990)
Non-Marxist interpretation of ideology:
The first major attempt to discuss ideology from a non-Marxist way was made by the
German Karl Mannheim (1883-1947). He was innovative in two regards; first, for
discussing ideology in non-Marxist term and then for being a landmark. His seminar book
was published in 1929 – Ideology and utopia. He makes a basic distinction between
particular (level of more or less conscious manipulation, even deceit) and total (refers to
what he calls “the mind of an era” or of a group) understanding of ideology. The German
term for total understanding is Weltanschauung and is a neutral term – nor pejorative,
nor positive. Ideology tends to protect the status quo of an era, whereas utopia can be
subversive to the status quo.
Continuing Mannheim’s vision, Hannah Arendt and Karl Popper coined communism as a
utopian ideology.
Mannheim opened the way to the sociological and psychologically study of ideology – as
a set of ideas and of values that binds societies and communities together.
Clifford Gertz (born 1926) was an American anthropologist who dedicated his life to
studying ideologies.
Arendt and Popper kept the distinction between ideology and propaganda. They
dedicated their works to communism and Nazism and developed a narrow definition of
ideology and for them both, communism and Nazism were rejections of pluralism, of
tolerance and they were both discriminatory forms of arguments. Both were historicist
ideologies; communism had a social truth, while Nazism had a biological truth.
In 1960, the American Daniel Bell (born 1919) published the book The end of ideology
and inaugurated the end of ideology thesis (endism); he said that the great social strains
that produced the two radical ideologies diminished after WW2 and he adds that we are
now aware of the dangers of totalitarianism.
An endism continuator, Francis Fukuyama published in 1999 The end of history – history
is not an evolution for us anymore since we witnessed the triumph of liberal
democracies. So, if there is a history evolution, there is only one possible: the movement
towards democracy and capitalism all over the world.
Huntington agrees that communism is dead, Nazism is dead, we are aware of the
dangers of radical ideologies; nevertheless, what we have today is neither a peaceful,
nor a natural evolution. The new conflicts are not ideological anymore, but cultural
conflicts. Since nation-states are the most powerful today, the world is dominated by the
clash of civilization – ethnic groups, religious groups. According to him, the American-led
capitalist globalization is a new form of imperialism, which inevitably produces counter-
reactions or anti-American responses, in the form of Islamic fundamentalism, of
Nationalist and ethnic movements (e.g. former Yugoslavia and the Balkans). The isms are
not anymore convincing enough since their social and economic basis disappeared.
Summary:
Ideologies start with the early 19th century with the French revolution and explain the
world.
An ideology is contagious; it seeks followers, new believers.
An ideology is a selection.
An ideology is not neutral, it takes positions and tries to convince.
Any ideology wants mobilization and action.
Propaganda
Propaganda = rational political education, according to the Communist Party; the
alternative term was agitation – very negative term, while propaganda was understood
positively.
In totalitarian regimes, propaganda is only one, with a very clear set of rules and is
synonymous with education.
Otherwise, we understand that it is a sack of instruments deliberately used to gain
political influence, to influence groups and individuals by focusing on a limited set of
ideas and issues. In this understanding of propaganda, the words “lie” or “deceit” are
absent.
Propaganda is action-oriented, is an instrument for mobilization and disseminating
ideologies.
Difference between advertising and electoral campaign: advertising sells products,
whereas politicians cannot be consumed.
